Suspension of investiture sitting due to provisional imprisonment of a candidate for President vs. representation and right to access to public office. Commentary on the Constitutional Court Judgment 23/2020, of February 13. Concerning the appeal for legal protection num. 3807-2018. (BOE num. 59, of March 9, 2020)

Abstract

The present judgment is an additional contribution to the jurisprudence on the right to access to public office of article 23.2 of the Spanish Constitution, summarizing Spanish Constitutional Court doctrine in relation to the analysis of provisional imprisonment as a limit to the right of public representation related to a candidate to the Presidency of an Autonomous Community. Additionally, it confirms the physical presence of the candidate and “face to face” procedure of investiture in order to provide the conditions for the correct Chamber´s judgement, which means a ban on telematic investitures. Nevertheless, after the necessary accommodation of the parliamentary procedures to the arisen COVID-19 situation, maybe the Spanish Constitutional Court will be, in the future, in a position to broaden the jurisprudence on telematic parliamentary acts in general.